SAN DIEGO (AP)  The reeling Chargers might have caught a break with running back Melvin Gordon and defensive end Joey Bosa.

Gordon exited Sunday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers on a cart with a hip injury after getting hurt wrestling for a loose ball in the second quarter. Bosa also left in the second quarter after he rammed his head into Panthers quarterback Cam Newton on a sack.

Chargers coach Mike McCoy said Gordon, who is three yards shy of reaching the 1,000-yard mark, has a hip strain and a left knee sprain.

Originally, it appeared the injury was more severe but tests showed otherwise.

Bosa, the team leader with 6.5 sacks, hasn’t been placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol. He has a strained neck.

McCoy, whose Chargers face the Oakland Raiders this week, said both players are “day-to-day.”

“I talked to (Gordon) this morning and he is going to work hard to get back,” McCoy said.

But McCoy isn’t going to rush Gordon to reach a personal milestone. Gordon has rebounded from a dismal rookie season and is on the verge of becoming the first Chargers back since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2008 to score 10 rushing touchdowns and rush for 1,000 yards.

“I’m just not going to throw him out there to get a couple more yards to say he got 1,000,” McCoy said. “Melvin doesn’t want that either. You’re looking out for the team but you’re looking out for what is in the best interest of the players. Sometimes there are some difficult decisions to make.”

Gordon is the NFL’s sixth-leading rusher. He’s one of six players with double-digit rushing touchdowns this year.

He said he was “very hopeful” that he could return over the final three games.

“It would mean a lot to me,” Gordon said. “So if I feel I can go I will be back out there.”

The Chargers, who have threatened to move to Los Angeles next season, are closing in on missing the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons. If the Chargers remain in the cellar, McCoy will attempt to be the first Chargers coach retained after consecutive last-place finishes since Tommy Prothro in 1977.

“I’m not worried that,” said McCoy, who is 27-34 in three-plus seasons. “I’m worried about putting a plan together to help the team this week.”

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